


Behind closed doors

by DiaboloFramboise



Category: The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: Angst, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/M, Fluff, Slow Burn, Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-15
Updated: 2018-08-15
Packaged: 2019-06-27 19:30:04
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 19,040
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15691914
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DiaboloFramboise/pseuds/DiaboloFramboise
Summary: Caroline's plan is a total success and Klaus is put in Rebekah's body. What happened when Caroline feels guilty and when a very pissed Klaus finds a way to come back?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi there!
> 
> I'm currently forwarding my stories from ff.net to AO3 so the stories are therefore old but you can give them a chance anyway :-)
> 
> Be nice with any mistakes, english is not my first language

The plan had been a total success. Klaus had been put in Rebekah's body and because she was daggered he had been as incapacitated as she was and buried deep down in concrete. As Caroline had said, the two birds had been killed with one stone and Mystic Falls was for now Original' free. Everything had actually gone so well that the whole group was surprised. It was probably the first time that one of their plans had been so successful with so little efforts and troubles.

Everybody was now gathered at the boarding house, celebrating Klaus' demise. There was a slight feeling of 'déjà vu' like after he had been desiccated but this time it was even better. This time, they would make sure that Klaus will actually stay buried. He was not needed anymore. The mood was then extremely cheerful at the boarding house where everybody was drinking and making toasts.

Caroline was indisputably the queen of the party. After all, she was the one to come up with the final plan and everybody was very admiring. Even Damon had made the effort to give her a few words of congratulation. The toasts were flying in her honor all around the place and no one was prouder of her than Tyler. His pride was mixed with a little guilt for trying to keep her away from his plan. He should have known that he could count on her. Caroline had always been there for him after all. He was furious with himself to have tried to keep her away but everything was fine now. They were rid off Klaus for good, he loved Caroline more than ever and obviously, she was feeling the same way. Tyler tightened his grip around Caroline's waist and beamed at her when she looked at him. "You are a genius," he declared enthusiastically in her ear. "I love you," he added, suddenly serious. Caroline smiled softly at him. "I love you too," she whispered. Tyler kissed her lovingly and let go of her to get a refill of his glass.

Caroline watched him go away with a weird sensation in her whole body. She was smiling, laughing, talking, accepting graciously all the compliments her friends were showering her with and on the surface she seemed at the highlight of happiness. But a weird feeling was coursing through her body and she couldn't tell what it was. She felt like her body was here but like her mind was someway detached from it and was floating far away from her. She had the sensation that her body and her mind were disconnected from each other. Her body was here, with her friends and was acting as everyone was expecting to but her mind was far away from here and was feeling horribly wrong and lonely. Caroline tried to recompose herself. She made an effort to really enjoy the party and the way her friends were treating her but she couldn't stop the nagging feeling in her mind which refuse to let her take pleasure in the moment.

After a couple of hours her uneasiness reached its peak. While everybody was busy drinking and dancing, Caroline discreetly sneaked out outside the boarding house and walked on the garden, enjoying the fresh air. She buried herself on the cardigan she had taken with her and took comfort on the warm material even if she didn't suffer from the cold anymore. Caroline sometimes missed the feeling of being cold and being soothed by a warm piece of clothing. For that reason, she had kept the habit to bury herself in a wool cardigan when she felt the need to be comforted. But why did she feel the need to be comforted tonight, Caroline wondered? Everything was fine. They won. Her plan had been a master plan. She could be proud of herself. They were definitely Klaus' free now.

Klaus.

At the thought of him, a pang of something weird hit her stomach. And suddenly Caroline understood what was the weird feeling which was keeping her from enjoying this evening.

Guilt.

It was guilt.

Caroline was feeling guilty. Because Klaus was gone and it was partially her fault. Caroline kept walking on the gardens trying to keep the disturbing feeling at bay. Klaus was bad. He had killed Jenna. He had used Elena as a blood bag. He had turned Tyler into a hybrid. He had made Stefan gone on a killing spree again. Bad. Klaus was bad. Caroline was repeating that to herself, over and over again like a litany, hoping to loosen the tight knot hurting her stomach. But images kept flooding in her memory. Klaus' smile at the Miss Mystic Fall pageant. Klaus' passion when he had talk to her about his art. Klaus' comforting embrace when he had held her in the school after she escaped from Alaric. Klaus' concern when he had ordered her to run home. Klaus' warmth when he had held her during the dance they had shared at his family ball.

Caroline growled, trying her best to bury these memories as deep as she could but her discomfort just refused to go away. Caroline thought about her previous conversation with Stefan. He was right. Klaus was no worse than them. Stefan had killed thousands of people. People with family, children and friends. And he had enjoyed doing it. Damon was the same. And herself…. Caroline had killed too. And she had enjoyed it. No, at the end of the day they were no better than Klaus. They had kept more humanity than him because as Stefan had said they all had the chance to have friends and family to rely on. Klaus had never had this. His own parents loathed him. Nobody had ever genuinely loved him or cared about him. Even Rebekah had turned her back on him at some point. He had never had only one person in his life he could blindly rely on. No wonder he had became what he was.

Caroline tightened her cardigan around her and wrapped her arms around herself. She was suddenly cold. Cold, and lost, and lonely. Her friends were celebrating their victory a mile away from her and she was here, alone in a garden, tortured with swirling nagging thoughts. What has she done? Was it really the right thing to do? Why couldn't she convince herself that she had been right?

"No celebration for you, Caroline?"

The voice behind her made her spin on her heels so quickly that she would have fallen if it wasn't for her vampire balance. Her ears were tricking her. Her mind was tricking her. It was impossible. Caroline slowly raised her eyes from the floor to the direction of the voice and her heart stopped.

Klaus.

Klaus was here.

Right in front of her.

He was still wearing the tuxedo in which he had been buried. He was looking at her, his face completely blanked, his eyes revealing nothing. Caroline swallowed. It was impossible. She was dreaming. The guilt had provoked hallucinations. She opened her mouth to speak but nothing came out. Klaus didn't speak either, expressionlessly looking at her. The tension rose until it was so dense it could have been cut with a knife. Caroline opened her mouth again. She made a strangled noise, closed it again and then focused really hard.

"You are not here," she finally breathed "you can't be here, I am hallucinating."

Klaus scoffed. "You wish you were," he said icily "but sadly for you, I am really here."

Caroline flinched at the sharpness of his tone. She was not used to hear it when he was talking to her.

She swallowed again.

"But, how?" she asked in a breath.

Klaus shrugged. "Apparently the body switch doesn't work properly when you do it with two Originals especially when one of them is daggered. I woke up in Rebekah's body but after a few hours I felt that the switch was activated once more. I was backed in my own body a few hours later."

Caroline kept staring at him, unable to process what was happening. He was here. Klaus was here. Klaus was alive. Caroline suddenly smiled, the painful knot finally loosening in her stomach. She promptly took a step towards Klaus to touch him, to be sure that he was really here but Klaus stepped back and Caroline's face fell.

"It seems that it is to you that I owe that wonderful plan to take me down?" Klaus asked sharply.

Caroline gulped and she stared at him, unable to answer.

Klaus suddenly raced to her and gripped roughly her arms. "Answer me Caroline. Was it your idea to put me in my sister's body to get rid of me?"

Caroline winced at the ache in her arms. Klaus was hurting her but it was the least of his worries. Still unable to speak, Caroline weakly nodded.

Klaus growled and tightened his grip on her arms even more. Caroline made a soft noise of pain but Klaus didn't let her go.

"So you betrayed me again, Caroline" he hissed. "Once again you used the way I feel about you to distract me. How many times do you think you can do that without any retaliation from my part?"

Caroline stayed silent and Klaus roughly took her face in her hands to make her look at him. Caroline winced again at the brutal gesture but Klaus didn't budge.

"You are going to answer me, Caroline," he said on that calm voice that Caroline knew was so dangerous.

She closed her eyes and tried to make some sorting out in her thoughts. She still couldn't process what was happening. Klaus was back. He was furious but he was back and Caroline couldn't help the relief which were slightly threatening to overwhelm her.

"I'm sorry," she finally whispered. "I'm sorry, Klaus, I didn't know what to do."

Klaus scoffed. "I don't care about your apologies" he said bitterly. "You played with me one too many times, Caroline. Now it's time to pay."

Caroline shuddered and involuntarily looked at towards the boarding house. She knew she was too far so anybody can hear her and she just hoped that nobody had came to search for her. This thing was between Klaus and her and she didn't want anybody in the middle of this mess.

Klaus misinterpreted her glance at the house. "Don't even think about calling for help," he warned her. "I will kill them all in a blink."

Caroline nodded, not trying to explain that she didn't think about calling for help, he wouldn't have believed her.

"What do you want from me?" she asked in a low voice.

"I want you to come with me. Now" Klaus voice was as sharp as a knife and didn't suffer any discussion. He turned his back on her and started walking away not even bothering to check that she was following. He knew that she wasn't stupid enough to put her friends' life at risk. He was right. Caroline didn't think twice before doing what she had been ordered to. 

She followed him.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Special thanks to Matt-on-Matt for beta reading this chapter

Klaus led Caroline to his car. She climbed in it without a second thought. She didn't feel like she had a choice anyway. Klaus moved off quickly and sped up along the road. His face was still blank, and for once in her life Caroline didn't dare to speak. When they passed the 'You are now leaving Mystic Falls' board, her stomach uncomfortably clenched, but she still didn't dare to ask where they were going. Klaus was driving fast, his eyes glued to the road, seeming totally indifferent to Caroline's presence. She would have thought he had forgotten about her completely, if it wasn't for his clenched jaw and for his white knuckles on the wheel. After a couple of hours, Klaus finally talked.

"You are going to take your cell phone and send a message to your friends and your mother. I don't care about the exact contents, as long as they know you won't be coming home for several weeks. Make sure they believe it."

His voice was so sharp than Caroline flinched.

"And don't try anything, Caroline, I am serious. Nobody knows that I am alive and I intend to keep it that way," Klaus added with the same harshness.

Without a word, Caroline took her phone from her pocket and wrote a quick text explaining that she needed some time to figure some things out alone after the mess they all had been through lately. It was pretty lame but she couldn't think about anything else. Before she could press the send button Klaus stretched out his hand towards her.

"Show me" he ordered. Caroline handed him her phone and after reading the text, Klaus hit the send button himself, before sliding the phone into his pocket.

"You don't need that anymore," he declared.

Caroline didn't say anything and silence pervaded the car again. After a couple more hours, Klaus finally pulled over to a big white house. It was pretty much a replica of his mansion in Mystic Falls and Caroline wondered how many properties he had all over the world. Klaus exited the car and headed towards the house, without even checking that Caroline was following him. She was. Klaus opened the door and lead the way upstairs. He showed Caroline a large bedroom; but before Caroline could study it, Klaus spoke again.

"This is your room. You can wander around the house, but for the sake of your friends and mother's safety, I wouldn't try to exit the house if I was you. Are we clear?"

Caroline swallowed and nodded, but this time she couldn't stay silent. It wasn't in her nature to just put up with things.

"Why are we here, Klaus? Why did you take me with you? What do you want from me?"

Klaus' eyes flashed at her questions, but he decided to answer nonetheless.

"We are here because we can't stay in Mystic Falls, if I don't want anyone to know that I am back. And you are with me, because I need to decide what I am going to do with you. You betrayed me one time too many, Caroline."

With that Klaus turned on his heels and left Caroline alone with her thoughts.

Klaus was in a blinding rage. He couldn't believe that after the sweet moments they had spent together, Caroline was at the origin of the plan leading to his demise. He couldn't believe that he had been stupid enough to trust her again. Actually, he was almost more furious with himself than with her; because he had believed it. He had believed her. He had believed that he was making progress with her and that she was finally seeing him in another way, not as a monster. How could he have been so stupid? It was sloppy and he knew better.

When Klaus had woken up in a coffin buried in concrete, he had immediately concluded that a body switch had taken place. It was one of his favorite tricks and he knew what it looked like. What he hadn't expected was to feel the switch operate again a few hours later and feeling himself reintegrating in his own body. From there it had been easy to break the coffin and get out from it.

A boiling rage towards the group had motivated his actions after that. Without even taking the time to change his clothes, Klaus had raced to Caroline's first only to find the house empty. He had tried the Gilbert's house and then the Bennett's. After which he finally went to the boarding house. He had heard the sounds of the toasts and the celebration from miles away. And it was only at that moment that he had known that Caroline was actually the one to come up with the final plan. The rage had been so blinding in the moment that he had to gather all his self control to not just barge into the boarding house and slaughter everybody. But he was smarter than that. He wanted a true revenge and he would have it.

Klaus couldn't believe his chance when he had seen Caroline walking alone away from the house. She seemed distressed, he couldn't help but notice. But it wasn't enough to deter him. She had played with him yet again. She had distracted him at the Winter Wonderland event just to give the witch the time she needed to do the spell. Everything was her fault. Klaus had waited until Caroline was far enough away so nobody in the house could hear her before he had approached her. He had been unable to decipher the expression in Caroline's face when she had seen him. Shock, astonishment, incredulity and then something more like… relief maybe? No, it couldn't be. He wouldn't let himself be tricked by her again.

Before seeing her, Klaus' plan hadn't been very clear. He wanted to make her pay but he didn't really know how. Even in his fury, he couldn't bring himself to just snap her neck or stake her right there. He needed to think about what to do. That was the reason why he had decided to take her with him to one of his properties far away from Mystic Falls. He needed time in order to decide what to do.

The first week in the house was pure hell. Klaus was giving Caroline the silent treatment and she didn't know what to do about it. She barely saw him, as he would exit a room as soon as she entered it. She passed the time by exploring the house. She discovered a giant library and a room, which was a small replica of a movie theater. The walls were covered with DVD and armchairs were scattered all over the room in front of a giant flat screen. It became Caroline's favorite room as she busied herself by watching movies. But even with the help of the books and the movies, Caroline seriously started to be bored after a week. The imprisonment was really getting on her nerves. She would have preferred that Klaus yelled at her or even throw her on a wall, anything but this cold indifference.

She was not used to his indifference. He was usually so thoughtful and so charming with her that the indifference was hard to take. It was only now that Caroline realized how much she liked being the center of his attention. She tried to talk to Klaus on a few occasions, but the only answers that she got being a low snarl and an icy look, Caroline eventually gave up.

The worst part was being alone with her thoughts. She could forget neither the guilt she had felt during the party nor the relief that had overwhelmed her at the sight of Klaus. This internalization gave Caroline pause. She had some serious thinking to do. If she was being honest with herself, Caroline had to admit that she was glad that Klaus was back. The time they had spent together had really meant something to her and she did feel something every time she was with Klaus. His smile was always sending butterflies in her stomach and his dimples never failed to make her melt. Caroline was well aware of everything he had done, but she was also well aware that there was some humanity left in him. The way Klaus was acting with her was proving it more so than anything else. The fact that he didn't hurt her, even after being alone with her for a couple of week, was proof enough.

After three weeks without seeing Klaus, the guilt was eating Caroline up. Klaus had been genuine with her but she had blown it without thinking of the consequences. She felt awful for betraying his trust and she wanted nothing more than to make amends. However, even stronger than the guilt was Caroline's feelings of longing. Being in the same house with Klaus, without seeing him, was far harder than she thought it would be. Knowing that he was avoiding her on purpose was painful. After three weeks like this she literally craved his presence. She wanted to see him. She needed to see him. She needed his presence. She needed his voice. She needed his eyes on her. She needed a chance to talk to him.

Caroline decided to corner him, as much as she could corner an Original Hybrid who didn't want to be cornered. She chose the early morning to do it. She had noticed that Klaus was waking up very early and using the kitchen around 7. Caroline set her alarm clock and had managed to find him in the kitchen while he was moodily drinking his cup of coffee. Klaus stood up as soon as he saw her and was ready to leave the kitchen, but Caroline boldly blocked his way. Klaus frowned and was about to remove her from the door, not too gently, but Caroline pleaded.

"We can't keep going on like this, Klaus. I can't take it anymore. The silent treatment is killing me. Please talk to me. Yell at him, insult me, throw me against a wall but please, please, say something to me . Anything. Give me a chance to explain myself. Please, Klaus, please." Caroline hesitated but she added in a breath "Please, Klaus. I'm begging you here."

Klaus' frown softened a little and he took a minute to think. She was right. The avoiding thing couldn't last forever. He needed to sort out what he wanted from her. He couldn't keep her here forever, but, as it seemed, he couldn't bring himself to hurt her. They were in a kind of a deadlock.

Klaus finally sighed.

"All right, Caroline. Let's talk."


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Special thanks to Matt-on-Matt for beta reading this chapter

A sigh of relief escaped Caroline's lips. Klaus was ready to talk. This was a big improvement. The only problem was that Caroline actually had no idea how to start the conversation. After a few minutes of tense silence, Klaus huffed in impatience.

"Come on, Caroline. You wanted to talk, I'm listening."

Caroline took a deep breath and blunted the first thing that crossed her mind.

"I'm sorry," she said.

Klaus raised his eyebrows skeptically. "It's a little light don't you think?" he asked sarcastically.

Caroline closed her eyes. She wouldn't have another chance to make amends and she knew it. She couldn't mess up that moment.

"I'm sorry I am the one who came up with the plan," she continued. Klaus' jaw started to clench dangerously and Caroline let the words flow from her mouth at top speed to try to say as much as she could before he lost it.

"I mean it, Klaus. I didn't know what to do. I genuinely thought that I had to help Tyler and I thought it was the good decision to make and that it was the right thing to do and then I talked with Stefan and we realized that you are no worse than we are and then I started to feel guilty, but it was too late, and then Elena organized the whole celebration thing at the boarding house and everything was out of control and I couldn't bring myself to celebrate with the others because of the guilt and that's why you found me in the garden and I was so relieved to see you and now you don't believe me and you hate me…."

Caroline was rambling now. She could see that Klaus' patience was wearing thin and she absolutely wanted to say what she needed to say. She finally shut up when she noticed that Klaus wasn't impressed at all by her babbling rant. As he still didn't say anything after she stopped talking, Caroline felt the need to fill the silence.

"I am truly sorry, Klaus. For what it worth, I am glad the plan didn't work," she said a little clumsily.

"And how am I supposed to believe that?" Klaus asked. His voice was harsh, but he failed to hide the hint of sadness in his eyes and Caroline didn't miss it. She shifted uncomfortably.

"Give me a chance," she suggested with a small voice. "Give me a chance to prove you that I do regret what I did."

"How are you planning on doing this? How do I know you are not offering this just so I let you go from here?"

Caroline shrugged. "I have no guarantee to offer," she admitted. "You don't have to believe me, but I am glad that we are here together. I really want a chance to make amends with you, Klaus."

"I'm not sure I still care about what you want, Caroline," Klaus whispered and Caroline felt her heart clench. The blank way he was looking at her made her stomach hurt. She hated the cold voice, devoid of feelings he now used to talk to her. Caroline suddenly realized that she would do anything to see the warmth in his eyes again. Anything to hear the laughter in his voice once more. She needed this. She needed him.

Caroline stepped towards Klaus, wanting to put her hand on his arm, but Klaus moved back immediately and Caroline's heart sank.

"What are we gonna do if you don't let me make things right with you?" she asked almost on the verge of tears. "You can't keep me here forever, can you?"

Klaus' expression suddenly changed at her obvious distress and he smirked almost cruelly.

"Maybe I can't keep you here forever, but I can do other things" he answered slyly. Caroline gulped at the sudden brutality in his voice and her heart picked up when he stepped toward her. She instinctively moved back until her back hit a wall. Klaus set his hands flat on either side of her face.

"I still have not decided what to do with you, Caroline," he whispered on her ear. "Don't tempt me to do something I could later regret."

Caroline swallowed and for the first time in a very long time, she felt genuinely scared of Klaus. His face was expressionless, but his eyes were slowly turning yellow and Caroline knew that it wasn't good. It wasn't good at all. Klaus felt her fear and smirked, leaning closer to her until her heart hammered painfully in her chest. He had never been that threatening with her and Caroline felt the terror crept up along her spine.

"Are you going to kill me?" she couldn't help but ask.

Klaus smirked again, relishing in the power he had over her. In the last few months, she had been the one to lead the game between them. It was only fair that he could now reverse the situation. He had been too nice with her; it was time to show her that nobody could betray him with impunity. It was time to show her who was in charge now.

"I don't know yet, Caroline. Kill you, hurt you, bite you… I am still weighting my options."

Caroline gulped, but she looked defiantly at him. "You won't do it," she said boldly.

Klaus snarled. "Don't tempt me, Caroline. Don't think that because I had a soft spot for you, it allows you to treat me the way you do."

Before Caroline had the time to be upset by the past tense he used about his soft spot for her, Klaus leant his face on her neck and she felt his teeth grazed at the skin. It was his human teeth, but Caroline's breath stopped. She had a very painful memory of the last time she had been bitten by a hybrid, and the idea of reliving it was terrifying. Klaus took his time, grazing at the flesh and nibbling at it, not too gently. He didn't pierce the skin, but he was making very clear that the decision was up to him. Caroline forced herself to stay as still as she could. She was wise enough to know that now was a very bad time to mess up with Klaus. She tried to focus on her jerky breath, hoping to calm her thundering heart. With a last nip, Klaus finally lifted his head to look at Caroline.

"Do you still think I wouldn't do it?" he asked roughly.

Caroline gasped and struggled to regain her composure.

"That's not what I meant," she finally protested. "I just wanted to say that if you wanted to hurt me, you would have done it a long time ago."

Oddly, instead of infuriating Klaus, her statement softened him. His eyes lost their golden shadow and became soft blue again. Caroline relaxed a little when she noticed it and Klaus stepped back from her, giving her some space.

"You are right," he admitted. "In spite of everything you did to me, it seems that I can't bring myself to hurt you."

Caroline's heart started to slow down a little at his admission and she released a breath.

"What do you want from me, Klaus?" she asked softly. "I apologized, but I know you don't believe me. What can I do? Please, tell me."

"I don't know, Caroline. But for now we are going to stay here and I am going to keep thinking about what I want."

With that Klaus exited the room and left a very upset Caroline behind him.

****************************************

The talk had not gone as Caroline was hoping but after all, what could she expect? Knowing Klaus like she did, she could only be happy to be still alive after plotting his demise.

The only positive thing in this mess was that the whole situation had permitted to Caroline to sort her feelings out. She was forced to admit that she cared about Klaus and that she wanted his forgiveness more than anything. But how? Caroline was at loss on how to prove to Klaus that she genuinely felt something for him, especially when he had started to avoid her again after their explanation.

Caroline wanted to let Klaus have his space, but his cold shoulder made it harder for her to find a way to connect with him. Not really knowing what to do and her options being limited in the house, Caroline decided to try to show Klaus small attentions. The day after they talked, she got up at dawn and prepared his breakfast. It was a small thing to do, but Caroline hoped that Klaus would see it as her way to show him she was genuine. She set a tray with coffee, toasts, eggs and blood and she crossed her fingers. When she heard Klaus leave the kitchen, Caroline eagerly checked the tray and saw that he had eaten everything.

Relieved that Klaus didn't just throw the whole meal in the bin, she started to prepare a different breakfast for him every day. As he always finished what she had prepared, Caroline decided to cook his other meals as well. She always had been a great cook and as the fridge was supplied every day, it was easy for Caroline to do that for Klaus. She set the table for him three times a day, trying to vary her recipes to maximize her chances to cook something he would like.

At first, Klaus didn't know what to think about Caroline's attentions. He had been stunned the first time he had seen the tray for his breakfast. He had hesitated to eat what Caroline had prepared but he had finally brought himself to do it. As the days were passing, he gathered that it was Caroline's way to tell him that she was sorry. Klaus couldn't help but feel touched by her behavior. She so obviously wanted to please him that it was hard not to feel touched. It was actually the first time in his life that someone bothered to cook for him and he had to admit that he enjoyed the feeling.

Caroline was deeply relieved that Klaus accepted her attentions. It was a tiny change, but it was a change nonetheless. However, even if Caroline was happy that Klaus didn't shut her off completely anymore, the situation was still hard to stand. It was really tough to be under the same roof with him, without any contact. After a while, Caroline decided to try something new and she started to add little sticky notes to the meal she was cooking. She hoped it would help Klaus to understand that she missed him without being intrusive of the space he needed.

On the first one, she simply wrote "Enjoy your meal". As Klaus didn't seem to mind she kept going on with each meal.

"This is a new recipe; I hope you will like it."

"This one is my favorite, what do you think?"

"My mum loves this one."

"This one was a tricky one, please savor it!"

"This one is an experiment, please don't hate me!"

With each one of the notes, Caroline dared to be a little more personal, hoping to provoke a reaction.

"Have a nice day" she just wrote at first.

"I hope you feel ok" said another note.

"I saw your last canvas, I love it" she wrote one evening.

One day Caroline dared a "I wish you would talk to me" note. As Klaus still didn't seem to acknowledge her efforts, Caroline decided to make a big splash. With Klaus' favorite chocolate cake she finally wrote "I miss you."

This note seriously worried Caroline. She had no idea how Klaus would react to it. She hoped he wouldn't get mad at her (at least no more that he already was.) She was thinking about it while she was in the movie room, watching a movie without really seeing it. Caroline was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't hear Klaus before he was in the room. Caroline jumped when she saw him and she smiled softly at him, a little uncertain. Klaus smiled back at her and sat on the opposite couch. They didn't interact more than this, but Klaus stayed with her until the end of the movie.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Special thanks to Matt-on-Matt for beta reading

Caroline continued on with the meals and Klaus stopped avoiding her. He was still a little confused about what he wanted, but avoiding Caroline was becoming too hard. Even if her betrayal had really hurt him, he couldn't bring himself to shut her out. He didn't want to make things easy for her, but he had truly missed her during the previous weeks. At first, Klaus had been too furious to care, but as his anger gradually ebbed away, he couldn't help his feelings from Caroline resurfacing and even growing. Being alone with her, under the same roof, knowing that she was sleeping two doors away from him and not seeing her was becoming too much to handle.

The cooking thing had seriously made him waver in his decision not to talk to Caroline. It was a nice thing to do, and he knew that it was her way to try to apologize. The last note she had written, the 'I miss you' one had been the final blow. He didn't know how he knew it, but he knew it was genuine. Even without seeing Caroline, he could feel in his bones that she was yearning for his presence as much as he was yearning for hers. The note had given him the perfect excuse to stop avoiding her. The happiness and the relief he had seen in Caroline's eyes when he had entered the room had made him melt. She was so obviously glad to see him that Klaus had felt his heart unclench for the first time in a very long time.

After that, Klaus joined Caroline in the movie room every afternoon; he liked this routine very much. The feeling of being close to her after those weeks of isolation was a true relief and he loved the way Caroline's face brightened every time she saw him.

However, Klaus kept sitting on the couch opposite from Caroline and it was starting to sadden her. Now that she had admitted to herself that she liked him, she craved physical contact from him; especially after all those weeks of longing. The fact that Klaus kept her at an arm's length was really upsetting her. She wanted to talk to him about it, but she didn't dare push her luck, and risk the frail balance they had reached.

What Caroline didn't know was that Klaus wanted this contact as much as she did. Being in the same room with her, without being able to have her in his arms was becoming harder and harder. Nonetheless, he didn't want to be the one to initiate it. Caroline had been the one to make the first move of their rapprochement during the previous weeks, and Klaus was curious to see how she was going to initiate this as well.

He could see that she wanted his touch. She was being so obvious about it that it amused him. The glances she threw at him every two seconds were anything but subtle. Her way to subconsciously position her body towards him, even if it made her uncomfortable to see the screen was the total opposite of delicate. Caroline clearly craved his physical contact, but she was still not sure about his reaction. Klaus watched her inner turmoil becoming more and more frustrating with every day passing and after a couple of weeks; he knew she was ready to crack. Even if he yearned to have her in his arms, he also wanted to make her work for it. It was only fair after all. Klaus knew he had won the day she spent half of the afternoon brooding and shifting in her seat. He was right. With an exasperated sigh, Caroline suddenly burst.

"Why won't you sit next to me?"

Klaus couldn't help but smirk. Satisfied (and extremely relieved) that she had finally lost it, he stood up and sat next to Caroline.

"Because you never asked me to," he answered calmly. Caroline pursued her lips and Klaus chuckled at her obvious pout. He spread comfortably on the couch, his thigh pressed again Caroline's and her pout disappeared. The feeling of him next to her was a physical relief and Caroline relaxed for the first time in weeks. She got comfortable on the couch, not daring to get closer to Klaus even if she couldn't think about anything else. Klaus felt her inner struggle and as his own need was becoming overwhelming he decided to stop the game. Raising his arm above her shoulders, he motioned to his chest with a gesture of his chin and Caroline's face lightened up. She immediately snuggled into his chest. Lowering his raised arm, Klaus wrapped it around her waist and pulled her closer to him.

Caroline didn't see anything of the movie. She was too focused on the feeling of being against Klaus that her brain had shut off. The only things she could concentrate on were Klaus related; the warmth radiating from his chest; the comforting weight of his arm around her; the soothing sound of his heart; his intoxicating smell. Caroline almost whimpered as she buried her nose in Klaus' neck to smell him. Body wash, discreet perfume, and this exquisite masculine scent that was his only. Caroline inhaled deeply and closed her eyes, not even trying to hide how much he was affecting her.

For the life of him, Klaus couldn't have told anyone what movie they were watching. The feeling of Caroline in his arms was a pure delight. Klaus wondered when the last time was that he had held a woman in his arms like this; he couldn't come up with an answer. This embrace was pure tenderness. It was the first time in his life that he was experiencing it. After staying away from Caroline for so long, the feeling of her against him was exquisite. Klaus relished the smell of Caroline's hair, her floral shampoo invading his nostrils. The scent was so enthralling and the blond hair looked so soft that Klaus couldn't resist. He lifted his hand and brushed the curls. Caroline gasped and instinctively raised her head to lean into his touch. Klaus kept stroking her hair tenderly, brushing strands from her face, burying his fingers in the curls, and massaging her scalp. Caroline closed her eyes and concentrated on the delicious sensation, purring under Klaus' hand. None of them noticed that the movie has ended. They were just savoring each other warmth, relishing in the tender embrace that they had both craved for so long. When she felt Klaus slow his movements, Caroline raised her head to look at him and smiled a little shyly.

"Does this mean you can envisage a way to forgive me?" she answered very softly.

Klaus sighed.

"It means I care about you too much to hurt you," he answered. His reply was clearly a way to deflect, but Caroline didn't push it. She repositioned her head against his chest and started to play with the buttons of his shirt.

"I care about you too, you know," she confessed quietly. "The silent treatment you inflicted on me made me realize how much I wanted to be with you. The less you talked to me, the more I wanted your presence."

Klaus smiled. "It wasn't deliberate," he admitted. "I didn't think that the silent treatment could have that effect on you so it's just a benefit I had not anticipated," he added on an amused voice.

Caroline didn't answer and he became serious.

"I was really furious with you, you know. I had no idea what to do with you when I brought you here, but I certainly didn't think I would end up with you in my arms."

Caroline looked at him. "Do you regret it?" she asked, a little uncertain.

"Absolutely not," Klaus answered forcefully. "The time I spent avoiding you made me realize that even if I was angry with you, I still wanted to be with you."

Caroline smiled and buried her face into the crook of his neck.

"I am happy," she whispered. "I know that we probably have a lot of other things to sort out and that it's not a few meals that are going to make you trust me, but I really missed you and I'm just glad you are talking to me again."

Klaus tightened his grip around her and stroked her cheek with his other hand. "I missed you too," he admitted. Caroline grinned and leant into his touch, amazed by the feeling of his hand on her face. Klaus slowly drew patterns on her face with his thumbs and smiled when Caroline closed her eyes.

"I don't want to avoid you anymore," he declared. "What if we were ate together tonight?"

Caroline straightened up immediately. "Wonderful!" she said enthusiastically. "I can start cooking now, what do you want?"

Klaus chuckled at her eagerness. "Everything you do is wonderful, sweetheart," he said truthfully. "You can do whatever you want."

Caroline looked at him, seeming suddenly transfigured and Klaus frowned.

"What is wrong?"

Caroline exhaled. "You just called me sweetheart," she mused. "It has been weeks. I've missed it."

Klaus chuckled again. "I tend to say sweetheart to the women I have in my arms" he answered teasingly and Caroline frowned.

"Do you tend to have a lot of women in your arms?" she asked a little sharply. This time Klaus laughed and cradled her face in his hands.

"As you can notice, since we are here you have been the only one."

Caroline hated the idea of another woman in Klaus' arms. She was on the verge of pushing the subject further, but she realized that her jealous behavior was really inappropriate right now. Klaus had made a big step towards her but for now, it didn't mean anything more. She had absolutely no right to act like a jealous girlfriend so Caroline bit her tongue and wisely chose to shut up.

"I'm going to go cook," she said evenly instead. Klaus nodded and let go of her. Caroline stood and immediately missed his safe embrace. She felt suddenly cold and hesitantly looked at Klaus.

"Come with me?" she asked softly.

Klaus smiled.

"With pleasure, love."

***************************

Klaus and Caroline spent a very nice evening together. Caroline couldn't help but find excuses to brush against Klaus whenever she could and Klaus was more than happy to let her do it. They enjoyed a nice meal, talking and joking, even if they knew they still had a lot to work on in this new phase of their relationship. Caroline missed her mum and she needed to talk to her. Nobody knew that Klaus was alive and it was also something they needed to deal with. And there was Tyler. Caroline knew she needed to deal with him too. She still cared about him very much but recent events had cleared her thoughts and she knew that he wasn't the one she wanted.

Klaus too knew they had a lot of decisions to make, but not tonight. Not after the tender moment they had shared. Tonight was about their liberation in having found a way to communicate and to be with each other.

After they finished their meal, Caroline hesitated but she finally asked, not looking at Klaus.

"Care to watch another movie?"

She hoped with all her might that it wasn't too obvious that she just craved to have his arms around her again, but she knew she had not succeed when she saw Klaus knowing smirk.

He said nothing, regardless, and just approved with a nod. They went back to the movie room and Caroline chose discreetly the longest movie she could find. Klaus settled on the couch and Caroline joined him, launching the movie.

"Titanic?" Klaus asked incredulously.

"What? I like that movie" Caroline protested.

"It's about 3 hours long!" Klaus complained.

Caroline faced him, suddenly exasperated.

"Yes it is three hours long and I chose it especially because I want to be in your arms all evening. Is that a problem?"

Klaus bent his head back and burst into laughter.

"No, love, it's not a problem at all, I just wanted to hear you admit it," he said with a smirk.

Caroline pouted and Klaus couldn't help but tease her a bit more.

"For future reference, love, Gone with the Wind is almost 5 hours long," he added mischievously.

Caroline's pout accentuated and with a grin Klaus looped an arm around her waist to pull her closer. He arranged her legs on his laps and her face on his chest. When he wrapped tightly his arms around her frame, Caroline sighed in delight and decided to pout later.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Special thanks to Matt-on-Matt for beta reading

Caroline spent the following days making up excuses to be with Klaus and preferably in his arms. The previous weeks of avoiding him had been too hard to put up with. Now that it was over, she could barely stand to have Klaus out of her sight. Dragging him to the movie room was the easiest way to get what she wanted. However, she quickly found that pretending to be cold worked just fine too. Klaus laughed one day while he was holding Caroline tightly against him.

"You do know, love, that vampires cannot be cold, don't you?"

Klaus chuckled as Caroline pretended not to hear him and snuggled closer into his chest.

"The thing is, you don't need any excuses to come into my arms, sweetheart. You just have to ask," he whispered in her ear, the laugher still obvious in his voice.

Caroline blushed a little at being so obvious in her need for him, but she decided to follow his advice. After that day, she just asked for a cuddle when she wanted one, and basically she wanted one all the time. Now that she had tasted the comfort of his muscular arms, it had become an addiction. Caroline had never craved anybody else's embrace so strongly. She had never felt so safe and secure in someone's arms. Maybe it was because Klaus was the most powerful creature on the planet. Or maybe it was the way he held her so close that she felt anchored to him. Perhaps it was his habit of possessively wrapping a hand around the nape of her neck to make her look at him sometimes. Or maybe it was because his scent never failed to make her weak at the knees. Caroline didn't really know what made Klaus' embrace so special. She just knew that it had become vital to her well being.

She was a little surprised that Klaus didn't try to push things further between them. Surprised and disappointed if she was being honest with herself. Caroline hesitated about initiating it herself but she instinctively felt that the timing was wrong. Their balance was still frail and she didn't want to push her luck.

Klaus couldn't completely process what was happening. He had brought Caroline to this house with a spirit of revenge and with the clear intention of hurting her. Several weeks later, he was spending all his time with the same woman in his arms, a woman who seemed unable to get enough of his embrace; a woman who was snuggling into him at every occasion; a woman who was leaning into his touch every time he put his hand on her. It was surreal. It was surreal and it couldn't last, Klaus knew it. For now, they were living in a sweet bubble, but one day or another they would have to go back to reality.

As happy as she was, Caroline also knew that things were far from being settled between them. They couldn't stay in this house forever and she really needed to talk to her mum and to her friends to let them know that she was okay. Caroline wanted to talk to Klaus about it, but she didn't know how to bring up the subject. She knew perfectly well that despite the sweet moments they were sharing, Klaus didn't have any tangible proof of her feelings for him. Despite Caroline's persistent reassurances, he still didn't know if he could genuinely trust her. Klaus didn't want anyone to know that he was alive and he had no way of knowing whether Caroline would or would not betray him if she was in contact with her friends.

One day, Caroline decided to just dive in. She understood perfectly Klaus lack of trust towards her, but they couldn't postpone talking about the future indefinitely. They were snuggled on a couch and Klaus was reading while Caroline was lost in her thoughts, savoring the touch of his free hand stroking her hair. With a sigh, she finally interrupted his reading.

"Klaus?"

The tone of Caroline's voice was enough to warn Klaus that she was worried and that she wanted to talk seriously. He set his book on the table and brushed a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Yes, love?"

Caroline hesitated and as always when she was nervous she played with the buttons of his shirt.

"I miss my mum and my friends, Klaus" she whispered. "I would like to call them. They need to know that I am fine."

Klaus tensed and Caroline froze in his arms. He stayed still for a very long moment and then he seemed to reach a decision. Taking Caroline's face in his hands, he made her look at him.

"You will call neither your mum nor your friends," he said firmly. Caroline's face fell, but Klaus kept talking.

"You are going to go back to Mystic Falls and see them."

Caroline's astonishment was so intense that she couldn't talk for several minutes.

"You're going to let me go back to Mystic Falls?" she finally asked incredulously.

Klaus nodded.

"This is your chance to prove me that you are telling the truth and that I can trust you, Caroline. You will go back to Mystic Falls to see your mum and your friends, but you mustn't tell them a word about me."

Klaus hesitated and continued "If you want to, you can stay there." He hesitated once more, longer this time and finally added, "You can stay with Tyler."

Caroline was about to speak, but Klaus didn't let her.

"We can't stay here forever, Caroline, and we both know it. We have some decisions to make and some things to settle. I won't keep you with me for much longer. If you want to stay in Mystic Falls, it's your decision to make. If you don't come back here, I'll know I will have to forget about you. If you come back and you have kept your word to not talk about me to anyone, we will discuss what we want to do. It's up to you, Caroline."

Caroline was on the verge of tears. She would have never thought that Klaus would let her go like this. Not after her last betrayal. She was asking for a phone call and he was setting her free. Once again he was offering her his trust and it made Caroline cried. Klaus tenderly brushed away the tears falling on her cheeks with his thumbs.

"Why are you crying, love?" he asked softly.

Caroline shook her head. "I can't believe you can trust me again after all this," she explained through her tears.

Klaus smiled, but his smile was colored with sadness. "I don't have much of a choice" he stated. "As long as we are here, we are in a deadlock, Caroline. I need to set you free so that you can decide what you want."

Caroline looked at him with watery eyes. "And you, what do you want?" she asked in a breath.

Klaus kept stroking her face for a while, relishing in the feeling of her skin against his hands and he finally sighed.

"You know what I want, Caroline. I want you. I want to be with you. I want to trust you. I need to trust you. So this is the perfect way to know if I can."

Caroline buried her face into the crook of his neck and tried to stop her tears.

"You can trust me, Klaus. I promise. I promise you I won't say a word to anyone."

Klaus nodded. "I hope so," he said softly.

Caroline lifted her face to look at him. "I want to be with you too. I don't need to go back to Mystic Falls to know that."

Klaus shook his head. "Yes you do, Caroline. We have been behind closed doors way too long. What has happened here between us has been quite intense and it may have given you a false sense of the way you feel. The last time you were in Mystic Falls, you were in love with Tyler and you need to decide what you want to do about it."

"I know what I want to do about it," Caroline murmured, but Klaus shook his head again.

"If you were really sure about it, do you really think that we would have spent all of our time only cuddling, Caroline?"

Caroline blushed a little, and avoided Klaus' gaze. He sighed and took her face in his hands.

"Why do you think I didn't try anything, Caroline? Because I knew you weren't sure and I need you to be sure. You are going back to Mystic Falls. You need it. We need it. The time has come." His voice was firm and Caroline nodded weakly. She knew he was right. She hated the idea of leaving him, for however short a time, but he was right. She had things to settle and it was time to do it.

The next day, Klaus handed her the keys to the car and set the GPS for her. "Here you are, love. Ready to go," he said with a smile.

Caroline's had a big lump in her throat when she threw her arms around Klaus' neck to hug him. Leaving him was way harder that she thought it would be. The idea of not seeing him for the next few days made her heart clench. Klaus wrapped his arms around Caroline and held her tightly against him, with that hint of possessiveness that she loved so much. He relished in the feeling of her body against his one last time and then let go of her after a soft kiss on her forehead.

"Come on, love, you have to go now," he said gently.

Caroline nodded, and not trusting her voice she climbed in the car without another word. It was with eyes full of tears that she finally ignited the vehicle and moved away from Klaus.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to Matt-on-Matt for beta reading

Caroline cried almost all the way back to Mystic Falls. Of course, she couldn't wait to see her mum and her friends. She had deeply missed them, but it pained her to leave Klaus. After spending all this time alone with him, the mere idea of leaving him was painful. Caroline stopped the car a few miles away from home and tried to freshen up her face. Her mum would be worried enough; Caroline couldn't arrive in tears after a couple of months of absence.

Her reunion with her mum was very emotional, as Liz burst into tears the second she saw Caroline. She refused to let go of her for a very long time and they spent the whole evening talking and crying. Caroline stuck to her version that she had suddenly felt overwhelmed by all they have been through and that she had needed some time to figure things out. Liz didn't seem convinced. It was really unlike Caroline to just disappear. However, she was so happy to see Caroline that she eventually just strongly scolded her for not giving any news for so long. Caroline apologized profusely and Liz finally let the relief of having her daughter back wash all over her.

Her gathering with her friends went more or less the same way. Nobody seemed totally persuaded by her story, but they were far too relieved that she was okay to stay mad at her. The hardest part of Caroline's return was the first time she saw Tyler. He truly looked like a mess. When Caroline noticed the overwhelming relief in his eyes the very second he saw her, she felt the guilt begin to eat at her stomach. Tyler was an amazing guy. He had always been there for her and he had always fought for her. He didn't deserve to be in pain.

Caroline let him crush her against him as a million questions flooded from his lips. She did her best to answer them, but she managed to stay very evasive even when Tyler became strongly persistent. Anyway, Tyler was too happy to have her back to push the matter and he eventually dropped his attempt at interrogation. Caroline was here. She was okay. That was all that mattered.

**********************************

Caroline slipped easily into her old life. She settled her long absence in high school with a little help of compulsion and she let herself enjoy the company of her friends and being in her own house with her mum again. She explained to Tyler that she wanted to take things slow with him after her absence. Tyler wisely didn't push it, even if they were spending a lot of time together.

On the surface, everything seemed back to normal. Caroline was smiling, laughing and joking and she looked like her old self. But internally, it was not that simple. She found herself constantly thinking about Klaus. Whatever she was doing, whoever she was talking to, wherever she was, she was thinking about him, wondering what he was doing.

The idea of calling him to hear his voice was overpowering, but Klaus had made her promise not to do it. She either wanted to come back to him or she didn't but there was no half measure. He didn't want a fraction of her attention. Caroline kept her word, but sometimes her fingers burnt as they hovered over his name in her cell phone. There wasn't much she wouldn't give to hear his voice, even if it were for only a few seconds.

Not talking about Klaus to her friends was harder than Caroline would have thought. She felt genuinely guilty to hide such a thing from them, especially when they had been so worried about her. However, the idea of breaking her promise to Klaus never crossed her mind. She knew that it was her very last chance to gain Klaus' trust; she wasn't about to ruin it. She didn't want to. The idea of disappointing him again, or even worse hurting him, was intolerable.

With each day passing, the withdrawal became harder to stand. Caroline's mind was wandering more and more to memories of the movie room in Klaus' house, as if every cell in her body was yearning to be there with him. After three weeks, her body was craving for his embrace and it was droving her crazy. Caroline knew that she had to make a decision. She could stay here, have her old life back with her friends and forget everything that had happened with Klaus. She knew he would keep his word; he wouldn't come after her. Or she could make the plunge, go back to Klaus and start a new life with him. Whatever her decision would be, it would be life changing and it was utterly terrifying.

"What are you thinking about?" Tyler suddenly asked. They were hanging out together, but Caroline seemed so lost in her thoughts that he was started to get worried. Caroline gave him a forced smile.

"Nothing important," she lied.

Tyler frowned. He could see that something was bothering her, but she deflected every time he asked what it was. Reaching a decision, Tyler suddenly stood up and came closer to Caroline.

"I can't keep going on like this, Caroline," he declared. With that, he cradled her face in his hands and he kissed her passionately. Caroline instinctively closed her eyes at the familiar sensation of his lips against hers, but as Tyler wrapped his arms around her, she knew what she had to do.

****************************************

Klaus was going crazy. Three weeks. Caroline had been gone for three weeks and he was on the verge of losing his mind. He hadn't told her anything about the time she could take to make her decision as he didn't want to give her any kind of ultimatum. However, as the days began to pass by he started to regret it. After spending a couple of months knowing what she was doing at every minute of the day, the abrupt lack of news was unbearable.

Klaus spent his time clinging to his phone, praying with all his might for a text or a call, even if he had made Caroline promise not to contact him. As his phone stayed desperately silent, Klaus cursed her for keeping her word. Maybe it meant that she had made her decision? Maybe she had chosen to stay in Mystic Falls? No, it was not possible. Not after the tender expression that crossed her face every time she was in his arms. Not after the way she would snuggle into him at any and every occasion. Or maybe, she had come to her senses after seeing Tyler again? Klaus was oscillating between hope and despair, his own thoughts driving him mad.

After Caroline's departure, he avoided the movie room like the plague. He had tried to busy himself by watching a movie one afternoon, but being in that particular room without Caroline in his arms was intolerable. Klaus attempted everything to keep himself busy. He tried to read, he tried to paint, he tried to run, but there was nothing to do. His mind was filled with Caroline. She had crawled under his skin so strongly that there was nothing he can do to keep her away from his mind, even for a few minutes.

It was mostly the inactivity that was killing him. Klaus was a man of action. He was not used to just waiting. Usually, he just took what he wanted and that was that. This was the first time in his life that he couldn't do anything to influence the course of the events and it was killing him. Klaus didn't even dare to leave the house in case Caroline came back while he was gone. After a couple of weeks, he started to hate his house that he has once loved so much.

With every passing day, Klaus lost hope that he would one day see Caroline come back to him. When the fourth week without her begun, he knew he had lost her. If she had missed him like he missed her, she would have come back already. She had made her decision. She had made her choice, and it was not him. As the realization slammed painfully into him, Klaus sat in the living room, completely and utterly defeated. He was alone, again. Caroline had left him. She had chosen Tyler. The moments they had shared hadn't meant anything to her. Klaus put his head in his hands and closed his eyes. The ache in his heart was excruciating. The idea of not seeing Caroline ever again was intolerable. The thought of not holding her in his arms ever again was unendurable.

As Klaus was about to lose it, he heard something. The engine of a car, getting closer to the house. Klaus stood up in a split second, struggling as hard as he could to prevent hope from blossoming in his chest. If he started to hope and he turned out to be wrong, he would never be able to move on. Nonetheless, he couldn't help but rush to the front door. The car abruptly pulled over into the driveway and Caroline dashed out of it. Before Klaus had the time to talk or even to react in any way, Caroline raced towards him and threw herself into his arms.

Klaus immediately wrapped his arms around her and held her so close to him that she probably would have bruises later. Klaus closed his eyes. She was here. She had come back. She was in his arms again. Unable to truly process what was happening, Klaus just held Caroline tightly, rocking her against him and burying his face in her hair. He was hungry for her scent; hungry for her soft curves against his hard frame; hungry for her.

Caroline was shaking in his arms and it took him a few moments to see that she was crying. She was mumbling incoherent words into his neck and Klaus had to focus really hard to understand what she was saying. "I didn't tell anyone about you, I promise," Caroline mumbled. And then "I'm sorry, Klaus. I'm sorry it took me so long to come back. I missed you so much. God, you have no idea how much I missed you."

For the first time since she was gone, Klaus' heart unclenched and he breathed again. She had come back for him. She had chosen him. The thought overwhelmed him and he tightened his grip around her, decided to never let her go ever again. Caroline eventually raised her face to look at him through her tears. She was about to talk, but Klaus interrupted her with a gentle finger pressed on her lips.

"There is only one thing I want to know right now, Caroline. Everything else can wait. Did you come back because you want to be with me? Are you sure about this?"

Caroline nodded without a second of hesitation. "I want to be with you, Klaus and I am one hundred per cent sure about it."

Klaus' eyes bored into hers.

"Did you break up with Tyler?" he asked bluntly.

Caroline smiled softly at him.

"Yes, I did," she answered tenderly.

Klaus released a breath he didn't know he was holding.

"Then let's stop talking," he said. And cradling her face in his hands, he pressed his lips against hers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading. So, it seems like it's time for a sexy reunion, what do you think?


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Smut time, don't read this chapter if it's not your thing.
> 
> Thanks to Matt-on-Matt for beta reading

Caroline's breath stopped when Klaus pressed his lips against hers. She had dreamt about this moment for so long that she couldn't believe it was finally happening. Klaus' kiss was gentle but when Caroline pressed her body against his, Klaus growled and his mouth became more exigent. Caroline sighed when he slid his hands around the nape of her neck, tilting her face towards him. He took advantage of her sigh to deepen the kiss and Caroline made a strangled noise when his tongue touched hers. Klaus slid his hands along her sides and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her closer to him. Caroline instinctively pressed herself against him and Klaus rumbled. He abruptly pulled back from the kiss and took a step backwards.

"Caroline..." he warned.

But Caroline followed him blindly and pulled him to her again.

"You are the one who said let's stop talking," she reminded him. "I want you, Klaus," she added almost pleadingly.

Klaus swallowed hard and tried to hide the fact that his hands were shaking.

"You need to be sure about this, Caroline," he warned again. "There is no going back after this."

The possessiveness in his voice made Caroline shiver and she gulped.

"I haven't been able to think about anything else for the past three weeks. I couldn't be surer," she said a little breathlessly. "We will talk about anything you want later, but for now, please just kiss me."

Klaus didn't need any more encouragement. Taking her face in his hands again, he resumed kissing her hungrily. Caroline sighed heavily and wrapped her arms around his neck, trying to get as much contact as she could. Klaus roamed his hands over her body and Caroline unconsciously grinded against him, making Klaus hiss. Cupping the back of her thighs, he had Caroline wrap her legs around his waist and carried her in his bedroom in a blur. When Caroline felt her back hit the mattress, she tightened her legs around his waist as she was afraid that Klaus was going to let go of her, but Klaus wasn't going anywhere. He was thoroughly exploring her mouth, stroking her tongue, and nibbling at her quivering lips until she was out of breath.

Klaus pulled back from her mouth and Caroline whimpered at the loss, but as Klaus started to kiss her neck, she whimpered for another reason. He trailed a path of hot kisses along her jaw line before reaching her neck and sucking at her pulse point. Caroline moaned loudly and Klaus blew on the wet spot, making her shiver. Slipping past the hem of her dress, Klaus slid his hands up her legs and started to stroke the soft flesh of her thigh. As Caroline sighed heavily, he moved his hand up from her thigh to her stomach, drawing slow patterns on the bare skin. He buried his other hand in her curls and tilted her head to take her lips again. Caroline wrapped her arms around his neck, relishing the feeling of his hand on her stomach; but her dress was definitely becoming an obstacle to his ministrations.

"Dress, Klaus," Caroline mumbled against his lips.

"What about it, love?" Klaus asked huskily.

"Take it off. I want to feel your hands all over my body," Caroline mumbled again.

Klaus complied eagerly and ripped the dress in its middle. He then peeled the two halves from Caroline's body and threw them on the floor.

"Better?" he asked while lavishing her neck with kisses.

"Much," Caroline answered as she ripped his own shirt from his chest. "Even better now," she added slyly.

Klaus smirked against her neck and pulled back from her neck to look at her.

"I am going to ravish you, Caroline," he whispered throatily, his eyes boring into hers. "I am going to ravish you until the only word you can remember is my name."

Caroline swallowed and her breath became heavier. She tried to form a witty response, but Klaus didn't allow her the time to focus as he took her lips again. The gentleness in his kisses was far gone and he was now exploring her mouth like he was starving. Klaus lowered his hands to cup her breasts through her bra and Caroline arched against him. Savoring the noises he was eliciting from her, Klaus stroked the hardening nipples and was rewarded with another low moan. Bored with the lacy piece of clothing, Klaus unclasped her bra and resumed his attentions on her bare flesh. Replacing his hands with his mouth, he made Caroline whimper at the first stroke of his tongue on her nipple. She tightened the grip of her legs around his waist and rocked her hips forwards. Klaus hissed at the feeling and Caroline moved her hips again, desperate to increase the pressure on her core. Klaus put his hands on her hips and steadied her on the mattress.

"Don't do that, Caroline," he growled. "Or I won't be responsible for my actions."

Caroline whispered something incomprehensible and pressed his head against her breasts, urging him to continue what he was doing. Klaus complied, twirling his tongue around her nipples while his hands were sliding along her sides. He stroked softly the apex of her thighs, but it was not where Caroline wanted his hand. Taking one of his hands in hers, she pressed it against her clit and moaned loudly when he applied a little bit of pressure with his thumb. Klaus smiled against her breasts.

"Don't worry, love, I am going to take good care of it," he whispered against her skin.

Klaus then lowered his head to her stomach and lavished the area with his tongue, delighted to hear the sounds coming from Caroline's mouth. He traveled down again, heading directly to her feet. Taking one of them in his hands, Klaus kissed slowly her ankle and started to pull up along her leg, pressing soft kisses all along it. When he reached the apex of her thigh, he went down again and did the same thing with her other leg. Caroline was going crazy. The feeling of his hands and lips, everywhere but where she needed it the most, was killing her. Her core was aching for his touch and Caroline whimpered.

"Klaus, please."

Klaus smiled and gently placed her shaking legs on each of his shoulders. Caroline was still wearing her black thong and for now he had no intention of rectifying the situation. Lowering his head once more, Klaus brushed softly Caroline's clit with his tongue through the lace of her underwear. Caroline's hips jerked from the mattress as a cry escaped her lips. Klaus kept moving his tongue agonizingly slowly against her soaked panties, and in a matter of minutes Caroline was a writhing mess under him. The raspy contact of his tongue through the lace was a torture. Not enough. It was not enough. Caroline needed direct contact and she needed it now. In a frantic move, Caroline tried clumsily to remove her thong, but Klaus slapped her hand away.

"I don't think so," he growled.

Caroline whimpered.

"Please, Klaus," she begged. "I need to feel you. Oh God, Please."

Klaus applied another twirl of his tongue against her soft spot and after eliciting another scream from Caroline, he slowly slid her thong down her legs and threw it across the room. He then lifted his head to look at Caroline and the pure need and want he could see in her eyes just made him harden even more.

"Please," she whispered again, looking feverishly at him.

Klaus resumed what he had been doing by softly touching her most sensitive area with his tongue. Caroline cried out and bucked her hips violently against him. Klaus knew that she was very close. He had teased her for too long to make things last, but he was going to do his best anyway. Having Caroline writhing under him was a fantasy he had imagined for so long, he intended to savor it.

He kept barely brushing his tongue against her clit; enough to provoke an agonizing jolt of electricity throughout her whole body, but not enough to make her reach her climax. Caroline was arched against the mattress, the pleasure becoming excruciating. Her whole body was teetering so close to the edge that it hurt. Klaus set a rhythm of agonizing soft brushes mixed with a little bit more pressure from time to time and in a matter of minutes Caroline was violently shaking against him. She was whimpering incoherent pleas as she had gripped the sheets so hard that she tore them apart.

With a last swirl of tongue, Caroline was on the verge of coming. All she needed was one more brush, just one more. Caroline stretched her body as far as she could against Klaus' lips, desperate for this one last touch. One more, just one more, just a little more pressure, oh God, just one little more, please, please, please…

Klaus twirled his tongue and the pleasure slammed into her like a truck. The searing waves exploded in her core, making her cry out in ecstasy. The pleasure then coursed through her legs causing her toes to curl. The spasms finally rolled through her torso until they reached the crown of her head making her head roll back onto the mattress. Klaus rode her orgasm with his tongue, but didn't let her catch her breath after. He kept mercilessly licking at the oversensitive flesh and a few moments later, Caroline was crying out his name again as her body convulsed once more against Klaus' lips.

Klaus then traveled up her body, kissing her skin all along the way up until he reached her face. Caroline' eyes were close and she was breathing so heavily that she would have probably been hyperventilating if she had been human. She fluttered her eyes open to look at him and she shivered when she saw Klaus' eyes black with lust.

"I love my name on your lips. I am going to make you scream it again. We are far from being done, love," he whispered huskily and before Caroline could answer, he crushed his lips against hers and kissed her hungrily.

As spent as she was, Caroline couldn't help but moan when Klaus palmed her breasts and her arousal abruptly came back to life. She could feel Klaus' hard length through his jeans and she could tell by the look in his eyes that he was getting desperate. As Klaus kicked off his shoes, Caroline ripped his jeans open and frantically removed his boxers. Savoring the contact of his bare skin against hers, Caroline took his length in her hands and started to pump it softly. Klaus hissed through his gritted teeth and struggled to keep his control. Caroline's hand was an exquisite torture. Klaus couldn't help but buck his hips into her hand while burying his face into the crook of her neck. Caroline increased her pace and Klaus bucked his hips again with a grunt, but he eventually removed her hand from him.

"I need you, Caroline. I need you now" he whispered gravelly in her ear.

Unable to utter a word, Caroline just nodded frantically and gently spreading her legs apart, Klaus eased into her. Caroline arched against him with a cry and wrapped her arms around his torso, trying to get him as close as she could. Klaus started to move slowly inside her and Caroline moaned at the delicious sensation.

Klaus set an agonizingly slow pace and Caroline clung to his shoulders, digging her nails in his flesh and scraping at his back with each delectable thrust. The slowness of Klaus' moves allowed her to feel every inch of him inside of her and the intimacy of the feeling made her dizzy.

Klaus suddenly gave her a deep and hard thrust and Caroline cried out.

"Again" she pleaded. "Oh God, do that again."

Klaus complied and Caroline cried again, her head rolling back into the mattress.

"Keep doing that," she begged. "Please, Klaus, keep doing that."

Klaus shook his head. "No, love," he answered hoarsely. "I have been dreaming of this moment for months and believe me, I'm going to make it last."

Caroline moaned and tried desperately to move her hips, but Klaus pinned her to the mattress with his weight. Klaus then pulled out of Caroline, making her whimper in frustration. After a few excruciatingly long seconds, Klaus pushed into her again, inch by inch, so slowly that Caroline thought she was going to lose her mind. Klaus repeated the motion, over and over again, until Caroline was a writhing and begging mess under him.

The deliberate slowness was killing him as well. It was a pure torture not to just slam into Caroline and finally find his release. Nonetheless, the sight of Caroline, completely and utterly wrecked because of what he was doing to her was worth all the torture in the world. Wrapping his arms around her frame to pull her closer to him, Klaus buried his head in her neck.

"You feel so good," he mumbled against her skin. "I could do this to you forever."

Klaus suddenly rose on his knees and sat back on his heels. With Caroline still laying down on the mattress, he tilted her hips to deepen the angle and pushed deeply inside of her. Caroline arched against him with a scream, scraping almost painfully the flesh of his thighs with her nails. Craving to feel more of his skin against hers, Caroline wrapped her legs around his waist and propped herself in a sitting position, sliding her arms around his neck to steady her. Klaus secured her to him by wrapping an arm around her waist and slid the other one around the nape of her neck. Tilting her face towards him, he resumed kissing her passionately while Caroline started to move her hips in a circular motion against Klaus. She rocked her pelvis, riding him deeply and increasing her pace when she felt him groan in her mouth.

The feeling was becoming too much to bear, Klaus abruptly lay down Caroline on her back again without breaking the kiss. He could tell by her frantic movements that she was close, as was he. Lowering his head to her breasts to taunt the flesh with his tongue, Klaus quickened his pace and Caroline cried at the double sensation. The pressure in her core was becoming unbearable and with only a few more thrusts the pleasure seared through her nerves and she convulsed violently under Klaus.

Klaus looked at her face twisted in pleasure as her mouth was opened in a loud scream and he thought he had never seen anything so beautiful. Klaus gave her a few seconds to catch her breath and just when Caroline was starting to come down from her high, he slid her legs onto each of his shoulders. Caroline gasped when he resumed deeply thrusting inside of her and she opened her eyes to look at him. Klaus managed to smirk through his own bliss.

"You didn't think I was finished with you, did you?" he asked on a rough voice. "I did promise you to ravish you, remember?"

Caroline just moaned in response as a deep push made her body shake again. Klaus slammed roughly into her, every intention of slowness long forgotten as he became desperate for his own release. Caroline rocked her hips forwards, meeting him thrust for thrust as the pleasure began to build all over again in the pit of her stomach. Sliding her arms around Klaus' neck, Caroline pulled him closer to her and kissed him desperately. Klaus eagerly answered her kiss, thoroughly exploring her mouth and swallowing her moans.

"Don't stop," Caroline pleaded against his lips. "Oh God, please don't stop, Klaus."

Unable to contain himself any longer, Klaus slid a hand between their bodies and brushed slowly Caroline's most sensitive area. "Again, love," he asked desperately. "Please, for me." Just as Caroline climaxed again with a scream, her body tensed in his arms, Klaus' control finally snapped and his orgasm violently slammed into him. He buried his head in Caroline's neck with a guttural grunt, as the wave of ecstasy rippled fiercely through his body. Caroline helped him ride the spasms of pleasure, frantically gyrating her hips against him until he finally collapsed on top of her.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To be honest this chapter is kind of useless to the story, it's just a 'morning after fluff' lol. Please indulge me :-)
> 
> Thanks to Matt-on-Matt for beta reading

Caroline didn't loosen the grip that her legs had on Klaus' waist as she wrapped her arms around his neck to pull him even closer. The feeling of his weight on her was so comforting that Caroline had no intention of letting him go. Intoxicated with the feeling of his skin against hers, Caroline sighed in delight. She softly stroked Klaus' back, kissing his shoulders and the apex of his arms adoringly.

Klaus slowly caught his breath, his face buried in the crook of Caroline's neck. The soothing sensation of her hands and lips on his body was delicious and he was enjoying every second of it. When his thundering heart finally slowed down, Klaus pressed a lingering kiss to Caroline's neck and rolled over. Caroline immediately whimpered at the loss of his warmth, but Klaus slid his arms around her frame and snuggled her tightly into his chest. He stole a kiss during the process and Caroline smiled lovingly.

"Well, that was an interesting reunion," she mused, still a little breathless.

Klaus nodded with a grin. "Indeed, it was."

Caroline smiled. "I have to admit that I expected a little more talking before we came to this," she said teasingly.

Klaus frowned, immediately concerned. "Do you think it was too soon? Do you regret it?" he asked, worry coloring his voice.

Caroline propped herself into a sitting position and hit his arm.

"Absolutely not!" she exclaimed forcefully. "I told you, I couldn't think of anything else during three weeks. I was more than ready, Klaus. I wanted it. I wanted you. I still do."

She seemed so adamant that Klaus couldn't help but smile. "Ok, love. Sorry," he apologized. He extended his arms to Caroline. "Please come back here."

Caroline complied eagerly, nestling into his chest again. Klaus wrapped his arms around her and started to stroke her hair, knowing how much she loved it. They stayed silent for a while, simply enjoying each other closeness, especially after those weeks of separation. In an attempt to sustain her habit of playing with the buttons of his shirt when she was nervous, Caroline' fingers instinctively rose to Klaus' chest where the buttons should have been. As he was bare chest, Caroline settled with twisting his necklaces between her fingers and Klaus gathered immediately that she was nervous.

"It was amazing," Caroline whispered and Klaus didn't fail to detect the hint of shyness in her voice. Cradling her face in his hands, he made her looked at him.

"I absolutely agree," he said vigorously.

Caroline smiled, the little blush on her cheeks making her even more beautiful.

"It has never been so amazing for me," she confessed, the blushing spreading on her face. She was so adorable like this that Klaus couldn't help but kiss her.

"For me either, my love. For me either," he murmured.

His eyes were so genuine that Caroline felt immediately soothed and pressed a kiss on his chest before repositioning her head on it. She played with his necklaces again and Klaus knew that she was not done talking.

"I'm sorry I had been so long to come back," she started slowly. "I missed you like hell, but I was so scared to take the plunge. This is a life changing decision for me, Klaus."

Klaus nodded. "I know that, sweetheart. That's the reason why I asked you if you were sure before anything happened."

"I am sure," Caroline answered immediately. "You are not allowed to doubt that. I am absolutely sure that you are what I want."

Klaus hesitated and then turned on his side to have a better look at Caroline. He slid his hands around the nape of her neck to tilt her face towards him.

"What happened in Mystic Falls? Talk to me," he offered.

Caroline shrugged. "I told everyone that I needed some time alone to figure things out. I don't think they really believed me, but they were too relieved to see me to push it. I didn't say a word about you, I promise." Caroline added, looking at him straight in the eyes. Klaus stroked the soft skin of her neck with his thumbs and smiled.

"I believe you," he reassured. Caroline hesitated, but she continued.

"And then I spent a lot of time with Tyler." Klaus tensed and Caroline lifted her head to press a loving kiss on his lips. "I am here, Klaus. I am here and I am with you. Now, do you want the truth or not?" she asked gently against his mouth.

Klaus grumbled, trying to push away the disturbing feeling of jealousy forming in his chest.

"Yes, I want the truth," he sighed.

"Tyler is an amazing guy. He has always been there for me and I felt so guilty about lying to him. But then…" Caroline hesitated and gave another lingering kiss to Klaus before continuing. "But then he kissed me," she murmured.

Klaus growled and instinctively tightened his grip around her. "He did what?" he hissed through his gritted teeth.

Caroline kissed him again tenderly and intertwined her fingers with his.

"He kissed me, Klaus. That's what he did. And at the very moment his lips were on mine, I realized that I could only think about one thing and that it was you. I wanted your lips on mine and your arms around me. It had been the catalyst."

Klaus' jaw was still tensed, but his hands eased their grip.

"What happened?" he asked a little dryly. He couldn't help but feel a little insecure and Caroline didn't miss it.

"I told him that I had met someone during my absence and I broke up with him."

Klaus raised his eyebrows, curious now.

"How did he react?"

"Not so well," Caroline admitted. "I hurt him pretty badly, but I couldn't stay with him anymore. You are the one I want, Klaus. I have absolutely no doubt about that."

Klaus' eyes bored into hers. "How can you be so sure?" he asked, the insecurity still slightly coloring his voice.

Caroline smiled. She had never found a question that was so easy to answer.

"Because I love you," she stated, as it was in evidence.

Klaus' hands tightened again as he closed his eyes, trying to keep at bay the emotions blossoming into his chest. This kind of feeling was not something that he was used to. It was disturbing and a little scary for someone like him. When he opened his eyes again, Caroline was looking at him with so much tenderness and so much love that Klaus finally allow the emotion to wash over him. Yes, it was disturbing and, yes, it was scary; it was also wonderful and he would give anything to see Caroline looking at him like this again. Klaus failed to hide the trembling of his hands as he stroked Caroline's neck.

"Say it again," he whispered, almost pleadingly.

Caroline took his face in her hands and look at him adoringly.

"I love you," she repeated confidently. "I've just spent three weeks thinking about you and lying to my friends to make sure that you could trust me. You can't doubt my feelings, Klaus. I love you."

Klaus smiled, seeming still transfigured.

"I don't doubt you, my love," he whispered. Very softly and very slowly, as if Caroline was something extremely frail and precious, Klaus leant to press a feather kiss on her lips.

"You are the only one who has ever said that to me," he confessed, struggling a little to keep a steady voice.

Caroline frowned. "Not even your mother or your sister?" she asked a little incredulously.

Klaus shook his head. "No, my love. Nobody. You are the first one."

"Well, I intend to tell you that I love you very often, so you might as well get use to it," Caroline answered lovingly.

Klaus looked at her with so much tenderness that Caroline melted.

"I'd love to hear that very often, my love." Klaus kissed Caroline again and then looked at her.

"I love you too, Caroline," he admitted on a low voice. His confession being easier than he would have thought, he continued. "I thought I was going to go crazy without you here. I was so scared that you would choose Tyler over me." Klaus' voice trailed off and Caroline kissed him passionately, his admission making a flow of happiness coursing through her body.

"I'm sorry it took me so long to come back," she apologized. "I needed to be sure that I was ready to change my life."

Klaus nodded. "No need to apologize. I understand perfectly." Klaus hesitated and then asked, "I guess you would like your friends to know the truth, right?"

"Yes, I would like them to," Caroline conceded. "It was not easy to lie to them. They were not happy to see me leave again, especially my mum. I told them that I wanted to start living my 'vampire life' and travel," Caroline explained, making quotation marks with her fingers to emphasize the words. "They didn't like that I wanted to do it alone so, yes it would make things easier if they knew the truth, but it's your decision to make."

"We will tell them the truth, Caroline," Klaus promised. "I am not going to make you live by lying to them. I just needed to know that I could trust you."

Caroline stroked his cheek. "Thank you."

Klaus smiled at her. "You're welcome, my love, but can we talk about this later?" he asked. "For now, I would like to just enjoy having you in my arms again."

"Of course we can. Anyway I need to sleep. You wore me out," Caroline confessed, the blush creeping up again under her skin.

Klaus couldn't help but laugh at the cuteness of her admission.

"Alright, I am going to let you sleep because you're going to need all your strength in the next few days," he assured her. "Believe me, my love, the ravishing is only beginning," he pointed out mischievously.

It was Caroline's turn to laugh. "Well, I am glad to hear it. Just let me sleep for a couple of hours and then I'll let you do anything you want to me."

Klaus raised his eyebrows. "Anything?" he asked teasingly.

Caroline swallowed at the lust lingering in his eyes, but she stood her ground. "Anything," she repeated firmly.

Klaus tilted her head and kissed her, passionately enough to make Caroline moan in his mouth and cling urgently to his shoulders. Klaus pulled back a little out of breath and brushed a strand of Caroline's hair behind her ear.

"Let's sleep now, my love, otherwise I think I'm going to misbehave before you can have your rest," he said a little huskily.

Caroline smiled and as Klaus settled flat on his back again, she snuggled into him, tangling her legs with his. "You promise that you will keep me in your arms until I wake up?" she asked on a sleepy voice.

Klaus tightened his grip around her.

"I promise," he answered softly.

Caroline drifted off to sleep with a huge smile on her face.

****************************************************

Caroline woke up a few hours later. She had rolled to her side during her sleep, but Klaus had kept his promise to keep her in his arms. His chest was pressed against her back and he had tangled his legs with hers. He had slid one of his arms between her neck and the pillow to loop it around her and the other one was tracing patterns on her stomach. Caroline sighed in contentment and stretched her body to found that it was deliciously sore for their previous activities. She whimpered at the luscious feeling and Klaus kissed her shoulder.

"Hi," he whispered into her ear.

"Hi," answered a smiling Caroline. She shifted a little and Klaus loosened his grip so she could rolled over to face him and then tightened his grip again. Caroline lifted her face to kiss his lips and then lowered her head to do the same thing to his chest. She pressed a trail of kisses against it and as usual, the scent he was releasing made her weak at the knees.

"Did I already tell you how much I love your scent?" she whispered against his skin.

"No, you didn't, but by the way you whimper every time you smell me, I had guessed," Klaus answered smugly.

Caroline didn't stop her ministrations on his chest, but she grumbled. "I don't whimper, you liar!"

Klaus laughed. Gripping her upper arms, he pulled her to him to kiss her. He didn't stop until he felt Caroline melt against his body and sigh heavily into his mouth. Klaus then replaced her head on his chest and let his hands roam over her body, never getting tired of stroking the soft skin and amazed by the soft sound he was eliciting from her.

"You are purring, my love," he chuckled teasingly.

"I am not purring!" Caroline exclaimed a little indignantly.

Klaus didn't say anything, but lowering his hand, he put it flat on the back of her thigh; his hand then slowly travelled up until it reached her neck, sensually stroking the skin of her bare back on his way up. Caroline made the same sound of contentment and Klaus chuckled.

"Ok. You win. I am purring," Caroline said with a fake pout.

Klaus kissed her shoulder with a laugh. "I love the idea that I can make you purr, my love," he said against her skin.

Caroline smiled. "So keep going. Because I really like what you do."

Klaus complied, but his strokes became quickly more precise and more heated. Caroline gasped when the back of Klaus' hand brushed the side of her breast and her breathing accelerated. Klaus lowered his head and kissed her so slowly and so deeply that Caroline' toes curled as she became light headed. Leaving no doubts about his intentions, Klaus kept kissing her with the same intensity until she writhed under him.

"My whole body is already sore," Caroline complained breathlessly when he finally let go of her lips.

"Does that mean you want to wait before I ravish you again?" Klaus asked a little hoarsely.

Caroline pulled him to her and made him kiss her again passionately.

"Absolutely not. I intend to wake up every morning with my whole body sore. I want to start every day by feeling utterly ravished," she answered on the same husky voice.

Klaus growled and rolling on the top of her, he pinned her to the mattress.

"Let's see what we can do about it."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading. Please consider leaving kudos if you liked the chapter.


	9. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's a fluffy borderline cheesy epilogue :-) 
> 
> Thanks to Matt-on-Matt for beta reading

Chocolate or coffee? Caroline hesitated a few seconds and decided to go with the chocolate. She added it to the mix in the bowl and beat it energetically. She had been highly amused to find how much Klaus had a sweet tooth. Who would have bet on a sugar weakness from the big bad Hybrid? Caroline smiled and let her mind wander as she mercilessly beat the chocolate with the eggs. It has been three weeks since she had come back to Klaus and she had never been so happy. Klaus was adorable with her, preventing her least desires, and making sure she was happy in every way. He was still clearly a little insecure about Caroline's choice to be with him, and he tried to compensate by being overly affectionate to her. Caroline was far from complaining.

Truth to be told, they had barely left the bedroom in these last few weeks, and it had allowed Caroline to see a new aspect of Klaus' personality. As consuming as his desire for her could be, Klaus always took the time to make sure that Caroline was comfortable and taking pleasure in what he was doing. He was aware that the devouring passion he had for her and her body could be overpowering for Caroline sometimes. That's why Klaus became so attentive to her every action and reaction that he could tell in a split second if Caroline was at ease or not. The feeling that his caring attitude gave to her was indescribable. She had never felt so loved nor so desired in her whole life. The way Klaus felt the need to always put her first, no matter what, meant the world to her.

Caroline knew that Klaus had slept with thousands of woman but she also knew that he had never been in love. Even if her heart ached at the idea of all those other women, Caroline found relief in knowing that she was the only one he had ever wanted to keep in his arms after the sex was over. Klaus proved that to her every day, spending hours holding her close to him, stroking her body, and relishing the way she leaned into his hands. Caroline was just as addicted to the overwhelming passion Klaus had for her body as his endless tenderness.

Caroline poured some flour into the bowl and couldn't help but blush a little at her own thoughts. She had never craved anything as intensely as she craved making love to Klaus. He had the power to make her body shatter into a million pieces every time his hands or his tongue were working her body. The sensation was as amazing as it was scary. Caroline had never let anyone have that kind of power over her. She had become so addicted to Klaus' body and to the feelings it caused in her's that she knew she would be reduced to begging if Klaus started to get tired of her.

Luckily for her, Klaus would never get tired of her. On the contrary, his hunger for her, for every inch of her skin, for every cell in her body was increasing with each hour spent in her presence. He had never known such an addiction. It was even stronger than blood lust. Blood could be provided by many ways. But that feeling, the feeling of Caroline's body against his, it was something unique that only she could cause. She was the only one able to set his nerves on fire with a stroke of her hand. She was the only one able to make him beg for more of her touch. Klaus was amazed to see the burning desire that Caroline could ignite in him with just a kiss. And more than anything, he was astonished to see the tenderness she was awaking within him. Klaus craved making love to her as much as simply having her in his arms, her body anchored to his, and her loving smile curling her lips while she looked at him.

Caroline lifted her head, suddenly pulled out of her thoughts. Klaus was back and he was leaning against the door frame, looking at her with a loving smile. Caroline immediately set aside what she was doing and threw herself in his arms, sliding her arms under his jacket to press herself against him. Klaus kissed the top of her head and wrapped his arms around her waist, securing her to him.

"Finally, you are back," Caroline sighed. "You have been gone all day," she complained. "I woke up alone."

"I am sorry I left you, my love," Klaus apologized. "There was something I needed to take care of. I left you a note before I went."

"I don't care about the note, I care about you. I hate waking up without you. I need a cuddle to start the day," Caroline protested childishly.

Klaus chuckled at her cuteness and kissed her hair again.

"I know, my love, but it was something that couldn't wait."

Caroline frowned, suddenly a little concerned and raised her head to look at him.

"What was it that you had to do?" she asked with a hint of worry.

"Nothing bad, I promise," Klaus reassured her immediately. "It's a surprise actually."

"What surprise?" Caroline asked, her worry immediately replaced by mere curiosity.

Klaus laughed and pecked her lips.

"If I tell you, it won't be a surprise anymore, will it?"

Caroline's lips took a pouting shape, but she suddenly smiled as an idea crossed her mind.

"You abandoned me all day, leaving me to bake a cake instead of having sex with you, you have to make it up to me," she said mischievously. "As compensation, I want to know what the surprise is."

Klaus burst into laughter and kissed her again. "And you say I'm evil!" he teased.

Caroline looked at him in triumph and Klaus gave in with a smile.

"Ok, my love, you win."

Klaus picked up Caroline from the floor and carried her towards the worktop where he sat her down. He stood between her knees and Caroline immediately wrapped her legs around his waist to pull him closer.

"Kiss me first," she demanded lovingly.

Klaus smiled and complied, cradling her face in his hands and kissing her slowly and deeply, perfectly knowing what to do to make her dizzy. Caroline sighed and gripped his hair, melting against his body. When Klaus finally let go of her lips, Caroline had almost forgot the surprise thing as another urge was rising in the pit of her stomach. Almost. After breathing deeply to calm her thundering heart, Caroline looked at Klaus again.

"Don't think you are going to make me forget what I want to know by kissing me like this," she said a little breathlessly.

Klaus laughed, stroking tenderly her cheeks. "It was worth the try," he said playfully.

Caroline faked a growl and he smiled.

"Ok, my love, I have a proposition for you," he declared. "We agreed on going back to Mystic Falls to tell the truth to your friends, but we agreed to spend some time together alone first, right?"

Caroline nodded and Klaus continued.

"I promised you once that I would show you what this world has to offer and I would like to take you on a little trip."

Caroline looked at him, a little uncertain.

"Where?" she asked.

"That, I can't say, my love. Please let me keep some part of the surprise," Klaus answered with a smile.

Caroline hesitated and fidgeted with her fingers. "For how long would we be gone?" she demanded, avoiding his gaze.

Klaus gently put his hand under her chin and made her look at him.

"As long or as short as you want, sweetheart. I promise you that when you want to come back, we will. I am not forcing you into anything, Caroline. I just want to spend some time with you."

Caroline relaxed a little and took his hand in hers.

"We would be alone, right? Just the two us?" she asked.

"That's the point, my love. I have no intention of sharing you with anybody."

Caroline smiled and lifted her head to kiss Klaus.

"It sounds wonderful," she declared. "When do we leave?"

*******************

A boat. Klaus had actually bought a boat. A yacht to be more precise. A extravagantly luxurious yacht to be extra precise. Klaus laughed as he watched Caroline's eyes open wide.

"Is it yours?" she asked incredulously, amazed by the graceful line of the white boat.

"Ours," Klaus rectified immediately. "It is ours." Caroline was about to talk but Klaus cut her off.

"And before you ask, I actually bought it, Caroline. Nobody has been compelled or forced. We are the absolutely legal owners of this boat."

Caroline smiled, still transfigured by the view in front of her. Klaus had refused to give her any clues about their trip after their conversation. He had disappeared a few more days to settle the details and this morning he had finally driven her to the marina. And now, here they were, in front of this magnificent yacht.

"I want to visit it," Caroline exclaimed enthusiastically. Klaus chuckled at her eagerness and nodded.

"Let's go, my love."

Klaus helped her on board and guided her inside. It actually looked more like a luxurious hotel than a boat. Their bedroom was gigantic and cozy with a huge adjacent bathroom. Caroline's jaw dropped at the sight of the bathtub, big enough to welcome at least four people. Actually, it looked more like a paddling pool, Caroline decided.

The giant cubicle of the shower was as stunning as the bathtub. Its walls were covered with around forty water jets and Caroline could see three shower heads each a different size. A bench was even attached to one of the walls, under a control board which contained at least a dozen options for temperature, steam, and pressure. Caroline's mind immediately wandered to lustful territory in which Klaus and herself tried all the possibilities offered by the shower and the bathtub.

Klaus seemed to read her thoughts as always.

"What are you thinking about, my love?" he asked, wrapping his arms around her waist from behind.

Caroline cleared her throat, but she decided to answer honestly. She had found that trying to hide her thoughts from him was useless, especially when they were of a lustful nature.

"I am thinking of all the things we are going to be able to do to each other in this shower cubicle," she answered.

Klaus put his chin on her shoulder and started to roam his hands over her body.

"What if we started right now?" he whispered seductively on her ear.

Caroline shivered and made a feeble attempt to protest.

"Come on, Nik, we have to finish the tour."

Klaus sucked in a breath, like every time she called him Nik. It had slipped from her mouth once and when she had seen the joyful expression in his eyes, Caroline had decided to call him that more often.

Klaus pressed a kiss on her neck and slid his hands along her sides.

"We have time, love. Actually we have time to try all the rooms if we want to."

Caroline's breath became heavier and she leant against his torso, tilting her head to give him better access to her neck.

"Yes, but what about the crew?" Caroline mumbled weakly. She knew she should have straightened up to prove her point instead of leaning against Klaus, but it would have implied pulling away from his arms and that was definitely not an option.

"The crew is not even here yet," Klaus whispered, nibbling at her earlobe and eliciting a moan from Caroline. Her moan became louder when Klaus cupped her breasts to stroke them and she whimpered in frustration when he abruptly pulled back and let go of her. She turned to face him and saw the devilish smile on his face.

"But I don't want to make you do something you don't want to do," he said with a faked consideration. "Let's finish the tour, love, come on."

Klaus made two steps towards the door. Two steps and Caroline raced to him and kissed him hungrily.

"You tease," she mumbled against his lips. "You come back here immediately and you finish what you started."

Klaus smirked in triumph. "Your desires are orders I will always fulfill, sweetheart," he murmured.

As he began to strip them both and lead Caroline towards the shower, Klaus thought that the bathroom was probably about to become his favorite room.

They resumed the tour of the yacht about an hour after with the same happy grin on their faces. Klaus looped his arm around Caroline's waist and guided her through the others rooms. Caroline gasped in surprise when she saw a movie room, a perfect replica of the one in Klaus' house. She looked interrogatively at him and he shrugged.

"I had this room redecorated," he admitted. "It has a special place in my memory because of the moments we shared in it. I wanted one on our boat."

Klaus was so obviously embarrassed at his explanation that Caroline melted. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him lovingly. "Thank you, Nik. This room is important to me too," she said softly.

They continued the tour and Caroline became more and more excited with every new discovery. A pool! An outdoor patio! A Jacuzzi! A bowling alley! Scuba diving equipment!

Caroline squealed in happiness at each new find and Klaus was in heaven. There was nothing more beautiful than her contagious smile and the happiness radiating from her face, especially when he knew that he was the reason for it. Caroline was babbling nonstop, commenting on each part of the boat and regularly throwing herself into Klaus' arms to kiss him frantically and thank him enthusiastically.

"Anything for you, my love," he answered to one of her thanks. "I promise I will always do everything in my power to make you happy."

Caroline smiled and stroked his cheek.

"I am happy just by being with you, Nik. I don't need anything else."

Klaus kissed her.

"I know, but I made a promise to show you the world and I intend to do it the right way."

Klaus took Caroline's hand and they climbed back up the upper deck. Wrapped in each other arms, they embraced the beautiful sight of the ocean in front of them.

Klaus looked at Caroline. "So, what do you say, my love? Ready to see the world?"

Caroline beamed and kissed him.

"Yes, Nik. I am ready."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading this story. Please consider leaving kudos if you enjoyed it.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading. Please consider leaving kudos if you enjoyed the story.


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